THE STORY:

KAREN GISSIN wrote -

I am a member of the NAMI (National Alliance on Mentally Ill) Leadership Alliance and have been for 5 years. Every year I host a fundraiser or auction to raise funds and then write a check to NAMI (usually in February or March). I hope that you will join me in my efforts to raise awareness and combat the stigma of mental illness.

•Mental illnesses are serious medical illnesses. They cannot be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's "character" or intelligence. Mental illness falls along a continuum of severity. Even though mental illness is widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion-about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 Americans-who live with a serious mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that One in four adults-approximately 57.7 million Americans-experience a mental health disorder in a given year.

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DONATION: $10

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